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Dropshot Fishing for Bass - Beginner to Advanced Tricks

  • 6'10" - 7' Rod
  • 10-12lb Braid to Flourcarbon leader
  • Size 1 or 1/0 hooks
  • 3/16oz and 1/4oz weight
  • Nose hook the bait - love "Morning Dawn" color
  • Yes you can dropshot with a baitcaster

How to Fish a Chatterbait

  • Basically 2 trailer options. Swimbait or Craw.
  • If running green or brown or black/blue probably craw
  • If running white or chartreuse or light color probably swimbait
  • Dislike double split ring style connection to the blade
  • Vary your retrieve and bang into things
  • Prefer heavy rod, heavy braid and fast ratio reel

Fluke Fishing Tricks For Every Situation

  • A "fluke" is a soft plastic jerkbait
  • Basic rig is weedless using an offset worm hook
  • Can fish it like topwater with rod tip up, fast retrieve popping it up and down
  • Can fish it deaper with a slow fall and a jerkbait style retrieve

Swim Jigs and Swimbaits - Beginner to Advanced Tricks

  • If water is...
    • ...crystal clear start with a swimbait
    • ...low visibility start with a swim jig
  • If bass are being finicky...go with a swim jig
  • Swim jigs are great for pushing thru grass

How to Fish a Shaky Head - Everything You Need to Know

  • Different Styles of Heads, Hooks and Keepers
  • Basic setup is a 6" straight tail worm
  • Worm sizes from 4" to 12"
  • 100s of different head sizes and shapes and makers
  • Typically rigged weedless and considered a finesse technique

Swim Jig Fishing!

  • Can use everywhere. If you have to pick only one bait.
  • 7'-3" Medium Heavy Power Fast Action Rod
  • Fast Speed Reel
  • Dirty Jigs - Standard Size
  • 3 1/2" Berkley 'The Deal' Trailer

How to Fish RipRap

  • They are not on one spot. They are constantly moving so cover the same water back and forth.
  • They are going to be facing up current
  • As day changes - depth of the fish changes
  • Water color dictates the bait type to use
  • Change your retrieve style occasionally
  • Find indentions they can tuck up out of the current

Summertime Cranking

  • Use electronics to find them offshore
  • Clarity in feet x 5 = start looking here
  • Have 14.5, 17.5, 20.5 and 25.5 depth baits ready
  • 12lb Flourocarbon line
  • Medium Gear ratio reel (6.8:1)
  • 7'-10" Rod for super long casts for full depth of the bait
  • Change your retrieve style / speed

How to fish Shallow Grass

  • Look for birds - start there
  • Make multiple casts on key points
  • Primarily using jigs and swimbaits
  • Bass will move the grass...cast there

How to catch bass on a Drop Shot

  • Keep the line tight and when it feels different - set the hook
  • Find something different - a high spot, rocks, a point, etc
  • Fishing just outside a grass line is good

Spinnerbait Secrets

  • Run it higher in the water column to give bass a better chance
  • Change your retieve, stop/start, get the blades to flutter
  • Quiet entry into the water - underhand / roll cast
  • Cover water - go fast until you find a group
  • Work the edges of grass/lilipads with Spinnerbaits...not in them

How to skip jigs under docks like a pro

  • Featuring Andy Montgomery - Skipping Master
  • Jig Head needs to be flat'ish and a great bait keeper (screw lock)
  • Thread the trailer on deeper not shorter
  • 1/2oz is the best weight for skipping
  • Rod should have a lot of tip action and stiff backbone
  • Bait should hit the water as close to target as possible parallel to water

Offshore Bass Fishing Made Sample - No Fish Finder

  • Stop trying to focus on finding the exact spot - fish the area like a bank
  • Use topographic / free online maps before you go
  • Drop a marker buoy or two for a target to cast at
  • Use a large jig to test the bottom and feel what is down there
  • Look for bait fish with your eyes

Complete Offshore Fishing Process Explained

  • Use a contour map before you go to find good offshore areas
  • When graphing, break up the lake into small sections and eliminate them quickly
  • Look for Fish, Bait Fish and Cover - You need 2 of 3 or move on
  • Have 4 or 5 different baits - try them all then move on
  • Offshore is about graphing a lot ("hunting") and casting little. It can be boring for many people who would rather just c ast all day long

How To Fish A Jig...For Beginning Anglers

  • Rocks and anywhere crawdads live is great for jigs
    • 3 Main Ways
  • 1. Cast and hop it back to you
  • 2. Make a long cast and swim it
  • 3. Pitching it over objects

Jig Fishing Made Easy - Fall and Winter

  • Not Much Grass?
    • 1/2oz Football Jig \w double tail grub
  • No bites or need a finesse?
    • Micro Jig
  • Grass is dying back?
    • Pitching Jig in hard cover

Muddy Water…These 3 Tips Will Double Your Success Rate…

Less than 6 inches of visibility...
  • Cold = Large Jig that pushes water and is slow and dark
  • Cold = Big spinner with big single blade
  • Warm - Texas rigged creature bait
  • Warm - Squarebill crank or chatter bait
  • Hot - Squarebill crank
  • Hot - Small spinner with double willow

Must Have Muddy Water Baits!

  • The muddier water - the shallower you need to fish
  • Big Jig for isolated cover
  • Large and Loud Square Bill
  • Bright Colored Spinner Bait /w Colorado style blade
  • Chatter Bait - White or Black/Blue

How To Catch Bass In Muddy Water

  • Tight to shoreline - very skinny water
  • White Spinner Bait \w Willow blade
  • White or Black/Blue Swim Jig
  • Loud Lipless Crankbait
  • Chatter Bait
  • Creature Baits and Worms - June Bug Color

Catch More In Clear Water By Using These Baits!

  • Translucent Top Water (J-Walker)
  • Translucent Jerk bait
  • Small swimbait (2.8" or 3.3")
  • Fluke
  • Casting Jig - Craw trailer

How to fish every bass fishing beginner lure!

  • Texas Rigged Worm
  • Texas Rigged Creature Bait
  • Texas Rigged (weightless) Soft Plastic Jerkbait
  • Spinner Bait
  • Crankbaits - Careful of snags!
  • Topwater Popper
  • Whopper Plopper

Tips for the best fishing hookset

  • You can over set the hook on light line
  • Heavy sets on Frogs and Jigs
  • Medium sets on Treble hooks and Spinnerbaits
  • Light sets on Ned rig, Drop shot and hair jig
  • [Hook setting examples]
  • [Hook set motion examples]

How to fish every soft plastic lure

  • Wacky Rig Senko - Hop it off the bottom
  • Texas Rig Senko - Hop or drag on the bottom
  • Texas Rig Creature Bait - Drag on the bottom
  • Shaky head / Ned Rig - Hop it off the bottom
  • Drop shot - Twitch off the bottom
  • Punch Rig - Hop it off the bottom (very specialized use case)
  • Buzz Toad - Immediately start fast retrieve with rod tip up
  • Flashy Swimmer - Weightless or belly weighted. Vary the retrieve.

Ott’s Garage | How To Ned Rig

  • Originally known as the 'midwest finesse rig'
  • This is finesse so you want a light mushroom shaped head
  • You can cut a 6" worm in half and use that
  • You can also use small craws or ned plastics
  • A light spinning rod with 8 or 10 lb line

Ott’s Garage | How To Carolina Rig

  • Requires significant setup so not often used
  • Basically a more action Texas Rig
  • Requires a swivel and leader
  • A bead to create clacking noise and protect the knot
  • 1/2oz barrel style sinker

How To Rig Up A Texas Rigged Worm

  • Use a 'slip sinker' (it's hollow in the middle)
  • Use an Extra Wide Gap (EWG) hook
  • 'nose hook' the worm about 1/4" of an inch
  • Put the hook through the worm
  • Make sure the worm is straight
  • Skin hook the worm with the point of the hook
  • (optional) Use a toothpick to 'peg' the weight

The Most Important Skill Beginning Anglers Must Learn...

  • Learn to cast well
  • Practice in your yard at targets
  • Cast right and left handed
  • Use different weight lures

How to Fish the Drop Shot Rig 2 Ways

  • Open Hook Style - 1 and 1/0 size
  • Weedless Hook Style
  • Prefer teardrop sinker
  • There is a particular way to tie the hook
  • For open style - Nose hook or wacky rig the worm
  • For weedless - hook it like texas rig (Favorite)
  • Lift when setting the hook - don't jerk it